Christmas Camping in Your Living Room

Aren’t you going camping this holiday season? Neither am I.
But this does not mean we cannot have any camping fun. Bring out the blankets and the pillows and the flashlights and let’s camp in the living room, right under the Christmas tree. Some old sheets can make up the tent.  You can also use a play tent if you wish. Pillows and blankets, or even better the real sleeping bags, will be our beds. When it gets dark we can use our flashlights to read stories about Santa. What a great way to start a new family tradition.

But how about food? Well, I am sure that mom will have something yummy on hand, even after dinner. So let’s pack up some apple slices and bananas (the less mess the better), and then add some  homemade cookies for dessert. After all it is Christmas and some indulgence is in order. We can pack juice boxes or water bottles as beverages.

Santa is coming on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, so we can wait for him in style, right in our wonderful tent under the Christmas tree. Maybe this time we will get a glimpse of him. Let’s leave him some of our “camping food” this time: how about a banana and an apple slice (he must be getting really tired of milk and cookies, don’t you think?). If you can think of any better “camping food”, then leave some of it for Santa, too. I am sure he will appreciate your creativity.

Christmas tree reminds me of the campfire in many ways. Surely it is more colourful and prettier, but it comes from the woods, and its smell reminds me of the firewood and the big woods that await us in the summer. Same with its mesmerizing lights: we can sit for hours around the Christmas tree, just staring at the glow of the Christmas lights, eating snacks and chatting, just like we do around the campfire in the summer. Somehow this light, though not the real fire and not as warm, is just as magical in many ways. It has a power to transform simple stories into reality in kids’ imaginations.

So let’s camp around our Christmas tree this year and have fun.

Merry Christmas everyone!